Legislative Alert

ENACTED LEGISLATION

DELAWARE: Delaware amends background checks law with respect to child-serving entities

Summary: Delaware made technical changes to the Joseph R. “Beau” Biden, III Child Protection Act.

Impact(s): Delaware child-serving entities

FLORIDA: Florida amends background checks law with respect to fees

Summary: Florida amended its background checks law relating to fees for records, Level 2 screening standards and access to criminal history information.

Impact(s): Florida employers

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NEBRASKA: Nebraska enacts social media privacy law

Summary: Nebraska has enacted the Workplace Privacy Act that will prohibit employers from accessing an applicant or an employee’s personal Internet accounts and taking adverse action against, or failing to hire, an employee or applicant for failure to provide any information related to the account.

Impact(s): Nebraska employers

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TENNESSEE: Tennessee amends background checks law with respect to specified school workers

Summary: Tennessee amended its background checks law with respect to specified school workers.

Impact(s): Tennessee school employers

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TENNESSEE: Tennessee amends background checks law with respect to child care agency personnel

Summary: Tennessee amended its background check law governing child care agency personnel.

Impact(s): Tennessee child care agencies

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VIRGINIA: Virginia amends background checks law with respect to private school employees

Summary: Virginia amended its background checks law to require the governing board or administrator of a private elementary or secondary school that is accredited pursuant to § 22.1-19 of the Code of Virginia that operates a child welfare agency regulated by the Department of Social Services to accept evidence of a background check conducted by the Department of Social Services in lieu of a background check in accordance with the requirements governing private schools, beginning on July 1, 2016. The law also requires governing boards or administrators of private schools accredited pursuant to § 22.1-19 to require, as a condition of employment, that any applicant who is offered or who accepts employment requiring direct contact with students to provide written consent and personal information necessary to obtain a search of the central registry of founded complaints of child abuse and neglect maintained by the Department of Social Services beginning on July 1, 2016.

Impact(s): Virginia private schools

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VIRGINIA: Virginia amends background checks law with respect to providers of sponsored residential and shared living services

Summary: Virginia amended its background checks law to establish a requirement for a national fingerprint-based background check for providers of sponsored residential and shared living services.

Impact(s): Virginia providers of sponsored residential and shared living services

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VIRGINIA: Virginia amends background checks law with respect to applicants and workers in assisted living facilities, adult day care centers, child welfare agencies and family day care homes

Summary: Virginia amended its background check law to prohibit assisted living facilities, adult day care centers, licensed and registered child welfare agencies and family day homes approved by family day systems from continuing to employ individuals who have been convicted of specific offenses.

Impact(s): Virginia healthcare providers

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COURT OPINIONS

U.S. SUPREME COURT: U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of Spokeo, potentially making it more difficult for plaintiffs to bring “no-injury” FCRA actions based on mere statutory violations

Summary: In a highly anticipated Fair Credit Reporting Act decision, the U.S. Supreme court ruled 6-2 that Article III standing requires both a concrete and particularized injury—a requirement that is not automatically satisfied by alleging a mere statutory violation.

Impact(s): All employers

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U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA: Court rules that plaintiff may proceed with suit after a positive drug test

Summary: A school bus driver was discharged after submitting to a random drug test which yielded positive results for opiates and codeine, despite explaining that she had a prescription for the drugs for which she tested positive. The employee filed suit alleging violations of the ADA, the ADEA, the PHRA and wrongful discharge/invasion of privacy. The employer filed a motion to dismiss. The court dismissed the age discrimination claim but allowed the plaintiff to proceed with all other claims.

Impact(s): All employers

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U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN: Motion to dismiss denied in proposed FCRA class action

Summary: In a proposed class action, the plaintiff alleged that Defendant Sentech Employment Services willfully violated the FCRA by including extraneous information in its disclosure and authorization document. A federal district court in Michigan denied the Defendant’s motion to dismiss, ruling that the complaint sufficiently alleged that the Defendant was aware of the stand-alone disclosure requirement and did not adhere to it.

Impact(s): FCRA compliance – for general legal review

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OTHER UPDATES

FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT: AutoZone’s FCRA class-action settlement gets tentative approval

Summary: A federal court tentatively approved AutoZone’s settlement agreement to pay $5.7 million to end claims the company ran credit checks on prospective employees without providing those individuals with a “stand-alone” FCRA disclosure.

Impact(s): FCRA compliance – for general legal review

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